[Article] Cox ready to throttle P2P, non "time sensitive" traffic

[Eric Shubert]

I think the problem Cox is trying to address is inherent in their 
technology, namely that customers share bandwidth. DSL doesn't have this 
issue (DSL has finer grained control). That's my understanding at any rate.

Sharkscott wrote:
> I agree Shawn, I like your idea, I don't download THAT much, but why 
> 'pay' for when its someone else watching a thousand videos at once that 
> is causing the network slowdown..
> 
> On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 6:29 AM, Eric Shubert <ejs at shubes.net 
> <mailto:ejs at shubes.net>> wrote:
> 
>     Nicely said. I agree.
> 
>     kitepilot at kitepilot.com <mailto:kitepilot at kitepilot.com> wrote:
>      > I think that this is being taken out of context...
>      > I manage a small wireless network with around a hundred victims...
>      > er...
>      > CUSTOMERS!    :)
>      >
>      > Being a wireless network, we face challenges that wired networks
>     don care
>      > about, and when the traffic spikes, we have to "manage".
>      >
>      > Let me state in here that we don't do false advertising (in fact
>     most of our
>      > customers are word-of-mouth), and we explain people that we
>     "shape" the
>      > line.
>      >
>      > I am not defending Cox and I don't know what they are doing, but
>     having seen
>      > how "journalists" makeup overblown aviation news for the sake of
>     "yellowish
>      > journalism" (or sometimes blatant ignorance of the subject and
>     laziness to
>      > get informed), I don't have any doubt that they will grab a few
>     words from a
>      > manager, and run to the nearest keyboard to type away something that
>      > "sells"...
>      > Unfortunately, "truth" doesn't sell very well...
>      >
>      > With that said, and after donning my asbestos suit, I want to
>     change one
>      > word that probably got misplaced here: Throttle.
>      >
>      > For all I know (not much indeed), and from what I gather from the
>     obvious
>      > ignorance of the reporter (again, nothing new after I see how
>     they convey
>      > aviation "news") Cox is not doing "Throttling", Cox is doing
>     "Shaping".
>      >
>      > You cannot run a network pipe without some kind of management, or
>     everything
>      > is going to go Hell.
>      >
>      > The way this is done, is by inspecting packets to determine priority.
>      > VoIP packets will be expedited and FTP packets will be sent after.
>      > Latency is not an issue in an FTP transfer.
>      > Latency will kill a VoIP connection.
>      > At the expense or extending the FTP connection a few seconds.
>      >
>      > This is not unfair, this is necessary, albeit unpopular...
>      >
>      > And IS NOT TRIVIAL.
>      > In fact, it is complex enough when you can inspect the packets,
>     never mind
>      > if you are dealing with an encrypted connection...
>      >
>      > Finally, even though I don't prevent P2P in "my valley", I do
>     severe or
>      > throttle the outbound connections when they become a burden for
>     the network.
>      > Most of the network is used by rural people that simply doesn't
>     have other
>      > options.
>      >
>      > I can't just tell them that they can't use Internet just because
>     Joe Hacker
>      > downloaded the latest hacked motion picture and 37 thousand
>     hackers over the
>      > World are banging in the line THEY (my customers) PAY FOR! to get
>     their
>      > share...
>      >
>      > It's a limited resource.
>      > I explain that to my people too...
>      >
>      > Finally, please understand that I am not defending Cox.
>      > But I believe that the whole discussion is falling down the wrong
>     path.
>      > Enrique
>      >
>      > PS: Who knows here about shaping?
>      > I need help...   :(
>      >
>      >
>      >
>      >
>      >
>      > Stephen P Rufle writes:
>      >
>      >>
>     http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/01/cox-opens-up-throttle-for-p2p-non-time-sensitive-traffic.ars
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> 
>     --
>     -Eric 'shubes'
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Scott Ruecker,
> Editor-in-Chief
> LXer Linux News
> 
> "The world doesn't need saving. But the word does, and copy editing is 
> what fights the good fight."
> 


-- 
-Eric 'shubes'